Thursday, August 29, 2013

Anaikatti Ashram and More

After all of the aforementioned travel, I settled down for the
next three weeks at the ashram in Anaikatti, Arsha Vidya Gurukulam. It was here
where I conducted the majority of my research in India. I arrived during the
final months of a three year course in Vedanta and Sanskrit which was being
delivered by Swami Dayananda Saraswati to hundreds of
students from all over the world. It turned out to be the perfect place for my
topic of study, in fact far better than I could have ever hoped for.

With a better understanding of Vedanta under my belt I was
able to interview several people at the Ashram, most of whom had an extensive
scientific background as well as an appreciable understanding of
Vedanta. In general, questions pertained to the varying perspectives on the
nature of thoughts and human consciousness in the Vedic and scientific
contexts. In addition to receiving valuable insights on this topic, I was able
to compile a fairly comprehensive database of additional resources. When not
conducting interviews, much of my time was spent gathering, organizing and
reviewing said resources, all the while strengthening my understanding of
Vedanta in both my everyday conversation and in studies of the Tattva Bodha (which defines much of
the Sanskrit terminology while explaining the underpinnings of Vedanta).

My time at the ashram was loaded with several other unique
experiences. On 22 July the Ashram celebrated Guru Purnima, a day in which the gurus of India are honored. Many of the evening Satsangs featured traditional Indian musical performances. I went on
several walks and hikes around Anaikatti and other neighboring villages,
through the mountains and local farms, and to local places of interest such as
hole-in-the-wall dosa restaurants, an
Ayurvedic hospital and a private
children’s school, Vidya Vanam School, which recently hosted a TedX event. It was especially
interesting to see a successful rural education program in action. We were
treated with some special dance performances by the students who were
practicing for the upcoming Indian Independence
Day on 15 August.

Although this
area is well known for its elephant population, I didn’t get to see any in person,
but I did see peacocks, lizards, goats, wild pigs, cows, and several other
wildlife species on a daily basis roaming freely through the tranquil ashram
environment.

My last 10 days in India were split between further segments
of research and some tourism. I spent 4 days with a friend in Chennai whom I
had met in Saylorsburg. We traveled down India’s east coast to visit the
ancient rock carvings at Mahabalipuram, which were of an impressive scale. We
also visited the towns of Pondicherry and Auroville. In Chennai, I was able to do some shopping in town
and see the Government Museum of Chennai.
I visited the National Institute for Research in Tuberculosiswhere my host was doing an internship, and was
able to speak with some geneticists and other doctors there for my
project.

I then spent another 4 days on the other side of India in
Mumbai, where I was invited to stay by one of the students from the Vedanta
course. I attended a historical talk on India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, did some more shopping and local sightseeing, did
some picking at Chor Bazaar (a.k.a.
Thieves’ Market), saw some of Mumbai’s clubs, and on India’s Independence Day, 15 August, I attended a traditional Indian
music concert with Mala Ramadorai and Rahul Sharma. My host arranged for me to meet several interesting people
to further investigate the nature of the subtle and causal
body, including a pranic healer, a yoga guru, a doctor with
an aura scanning device, and a channel. I learned a lot of interesting
information from them and have more follow up research to do here as well.

My final day in India was spent in Agra, on 18 August. I
wanted to see the Taj Mahal and Agra
Fort before leaving this beautiful country, and I’m glad I did, although I
got sick from the food there. I’ve been traveling around Europe since then, but
due to the sickness have been unable to post till now.I already miss India and I’m definitely
making a return trip one day. Although I was often busied by my research
efforts, this led me down some interesting roads and I don’t think any future
trips could ever compete with this initial experience. Again one final thank
you to everyone who made this experience what it was. I’ve barely put a dent in
the amount of research that will be required over the next several years, but
the most important goals of the trip were accomplished; there is now a strong
foundation to work from, and a vast network of resources at my disposal.